Eight ounce of spaghetti , broken in half or whatever noodles you like. I used gluten-free spaghetti.

Stalk of celery wth some of the leafy part included

Two carrots

Half a red bell pepper

Half a sweet onion

Cup of fresh broccoli

Cup of fresh cauliflower

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Sauce:

1/4 cup peanut butter

Two tablespoons water

Two teaspoons sesame seed oil

Two tablespoons rice vinegar

Two tablespoons Tamari Lite

Half teaspoon ground ginger

One tablespoon brown sugar

Eighth teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)

Eighth teaspoon coriander powder

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Place peanut butter in a small bowl. Gradually beat water and oil in into peanut butter with whisk until smooth. Whisk in vinegar, Tamari, ginger and cayenne until blended.

Sauté onion and celery in a splash of olive oil in a large pan

Steam remaining vegetables

Cook pasta as you like it

Add vegetables into the pan with the onion and celery. Then add in the pasta and stir it all together and until well mixed. Start with half the pasta and add in more as needed; I like more sauce and less pasta.

This is a combination of chopped up apple, banana, strawberries, mango topped with a “store-bought” container of mandarin oranges in fruit juice (no sugar added). Great for a quick, easy and healthy dessert!

Cut up potatoes and pepper and some onion….sautéed in a splash of olive oil. Seasoned with Garlic Pepper blend; dried basil and Mrs. Dash Seasoning. Added in croutons made with oatmeal bread and a sprouted rye multigrain bread; these were sauteed in Earth Balance Soy Free Butter Spread, with some dried basil and some garlic powder sprinkled in.

I’m not gonna’ lie to ya’ — this turned out to be a tasty dish.

I try not to include oil in my meals because I hear it’s not good for me but I also hear that it IS, so sometimes I throw a bit in here and there just because I can. And if you say “sautéed” instead of fried, it’s easier to pretend it’s healthy.

This could all be done with water, too….I’ve done that and I liked it!

Your thoughts and feedback on the inclusion of oil are welcomed and encouraged!!

Simple. Quick. Tastes good! I cut up two carrots. Sprinkled with seasoning — I used Mrs. Dash Original Blend seasoning. I also sprinkled on a little stevia (SweetLeaf Organic Stevia Sweetener)….probably less than 1/4 of an ounce. You could roast this; this time I put it in the microwave for about three to five minutes. Done.

1/2 cup chopped onion; 1/4 cup raisins; after a couple of minutes add in a bunch of finely chopped broccoli (or however fine you like it). Add in some salt and pepper. Stir everything together. Let it sauté until it is not-too-smooshy and not-too-crispy.

Options: Sprinkle in some bacon bits that are real or fake and/or sprinkle on some shredded coconut. It’s a basic recipe that you can enhance (or not) with curry or other spices and herbs.

This just shows that you can make stuff up and it can end up tasting really good! I did …..and it did.

Next one: add a few sauteed mushrooms & some green pepper(sauteed in water with garlic-pepper seasoning);

Third photo is a version with kinda’ fake bacon;

…and then a kidney and pinto bean salad with chopped onion, celery, carrot and a Vegenaise & mustard dressing and a hard-cooked egg (so that one is not vegan — but I have made it without the egg and it is still so good).

I have now been officially retired for 18 days, the last few days of which have been spent with a cold or flu — still not sure which. I read that a cold doesn’t involve a fever and I did have a slight fever yesterday and part of the day before that of about 99.9 or so. Fever is gone now and I am feeling better. Meanwhile, my husband has a sinus infection and is on antibiotics so it’s been a less than stellar beginning.

This may be an aspect of the joy of retirement, though; it is so nice that I didn’t have to worry about payroll not getting done since I was feeling rather miserable and it is so nice that I didn’t have to stay at work even though I felt bad. Just had to focus on healing.

I could even make a healing soup with ease. Sauteed onions, celery and diced carrots in broth; then added remaining broth, and after that cooked for a few minutes, I added a crushed clove of garlic, a few sprinkles of thyme, dried basil, and a dash of paprika and some frozen peas. Later we added in some rice to cook in the soup. This photo shows pasta, but that was from last week (same process, same good taste).

The sandwich includes non-dairy cheese made by Follow Your Heart — the mozzarella version is especially good.

I read that broth and thyme and garlic and dark chocolate are supposed to be helpful for healing a cough– couldn’t hurt!